


His Ona

by Em_Fearcram



Category: The Jungle - Upton Sinclair
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Married Couple, Married Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:09:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29556831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Em_Fearcram/pseuds/Em_Fearcram
Summary: Jurgis is tired, and about ready to give up thanks to his long days in the factory with little pay. Can Ona make him feel better?~~~Or, I write a The Jungle fanfic because there wasn't one and there needs to be.
Relationships: Jurgis Rudkus/Ona Lukoszaite
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	His Ona

**Author's Note:**

> (This is based off of characters and the story line from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.)

Jurgis came home. His entire body was tired, and he could barely keep his eyes open. He had spent the entirety of the last week working over twelve hours a day in the horrible, stifling conditions of the factory. Each night when he got home, he had gone straight to his bed and collapsed, not even bothering with food. That could wait until later, after all.

Tonight was no different. The near pitying eyes of his family-- Ona’s family-- followed him as he trudged through their drafty house. The looks weren’t just for him, he knew. They hated their whole situation, the cold hard facts of America that they had only realized once it was too late, and the long hours for almost no pay that everyone worked.

“I will work harder,” Jurgis repeated to himself as he ducked his head. Yeah, right. It was no use. The hunger-stricken form of Stanislovas and his mother were proof enough of that. It was time to admit it to himself-- hard work wasn’t going to be enough to fix their situation. He didn’t know if anything would be.

The hard mattress that he fell on did little to ease his aching back, but at this point Jurgis was happy with anything that didn’t require him standing. His head hurt-- no, everything hurt-- and with thoughts of the fact that it was Saturday and yet he’d still have to work tomorrow filling his head, he dropped into a dreamless sleep.

~~~~~

Jurgis’s bed was cold when sounds of the city waking up around him tore him from his sleep. It was just before dawn, and the night sky still loomed above the world, filtering through the cracks in the walls. Pulling the thin blanket they could barely afford around him, Jurgis wanted nothing more than to continue resting. He, like everyone else, was overworked, and just the thought of having to get out of bed made him want to curl up into a ball and never move.

Normally, on days like these, the warm figure of his wife sleeping softly beside him, just about to get up herself, would be able to remind him of why he did what he did: Family, love, and more than anything, Ona herself. He would give anything to make her happy, anything to--

Wait--

Where was Ona?

Jurgis shot up, the cover sliding down as he looked around. The bed he and Ona shared supported only him, the young, kind girl he had married starkly absent.

“Ona?” he whispered softly, as if she was nearby in a place where she could hear him. “Ona?”

Never before had she been up before the two of them. She was always the heavier sleeper, going on about how comfy the bed was, even though it wasn’t, and how warm his body was, even though he knew that he had chilled both inside and out these past few weeks. She had been down herself lately too, sometimes spending minutes just staring at the wall, or bursting into tears suddenly for no apparent, urgent reason.

Jurgis knew that the hopelessness of their situation was getting to her, and the added stress of her baby-- (their baby!)-- on the way couldn’t help matters, but he didn’t know how to assist her. Together they were strong, a beautiful love story like no other, but separate, like they had been the past few weeks, left them both stranded and lost.

Slowly, Jurgis eased himself off of the bed, feeling his muscles strain as he filled them to work. Bare feet hit the cold floor, and he suppressed a shiver as he made his way to the door.

He opened it, and peared his head out, looking down the hall to where he could hear the wondrous noises of his family starting their early day, trying to determine their mood. Had Ona left for work already? Or was something wrong? Was she injured, hurt, sick, or worse? Fear tightened in his stomach, and he gulped as he called out again, this time a little louder.

“Ona?”

There was a moment of silence, where Jurgis was sure that his heart would burst, it was beating so quickly. Then, a soft face poked its head out from around the corner, and the cool rush of relief washed over him.

“Good morning, Jurgis!” Ona chirped, much brighter than Jurgis had heard in what seemed like forever. He tilted his head in confusion. Was it a special day? Had he forgotten someone’s birthday? They didn’t celebrate birthdays anymore, though, so that couldn’t be it, right?

“Good morning, Ona,” he responded, trying not to sound too confused. If she was in a good mood, he didn’t want to take the chance of dampening it. “How are you this morning? You’re up… early…?”

She laughed, a light, airy one that took his breath away. She sounded so youthful, so carefree. It reminded him of simpler times, when they were just a new couple, madly in love, running away to a growing country for a better life. They hadn’t cared much back then about what the future would bring. They knew that as long as they were together, everything would be alright.

“I’m doing great today, Jurgis!” He loved how she said his name. “And come here-- I made breakfast!”

“Really?” That was certainly a surprise. Normally they just grabbed a bite of whatever they could get their hands on, grabbed the sack of lunch prepared by Teta Elzbieta and Kotrina, and ambled out the door to their respective factories, barely time enough to greet each other. “Is something happening today, or…?”

“Nope!” Ona bounced over and pressed a light kiss to his cheek. He smiled automatically, a blush appearing despite these quick touches being a common occurrence. “I just wanted to!”

“You did?”

“Yeah! We’ve all been working so hard lately, especially you. You deserve to have nice things too, Jurgis.” She smiled, one that reached her eyes, not a forced or exhausted one like he’d gotten used to. Too used to.

A sudden urge came upon him, and without a second thought to whether it was appropriate in their situation, Jurgis bent down and with his strong arms, lifted Ona up so that her legs wrapped around his waist and her eyes were level with his.

“Really?” he asked breathlessly, a smile working its way onto her face to rival her’s. “You-- for me?’

“Of course!” Ona brushed a stray strand of hair out of his face with one hand, using the other to anchor herself to his shoulder. “I love you, Jurgis.”

He smiled. Times may be rough for the family, but that didn’t mean that all hope, all goodness had been destroyed. After all, he had Ona, his girl, his wife, his love.

“I love you too,” he said, closing the distance between their mouths. He closed his eyes, a calmness filling his body. I love you.

The factory could suck his soul, drain his spirit, leave him broken and battered, begging for salvation, but he knew that he would be able to persevere, to carry on. Nothing could finish him, not as long as it didn’t take his heart.

And his heart?

It lay, always and forever, with Ona.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this! This was the first fanfic I've ever posted on this website, so yeah! :) Keep reading!!! :)


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